COPYCENSE

"Catching Blondie’s reunion tour broadcast at 4 in the morning wasn’t an option for XM Satellite Radio subscriber Scott MacLean. ‘I was missing concerts that were being broadcasted when I was asleep or out,’ he said.

"So the 35-year-old computer programmer from Ottawa, Ontario, wrote a piece of software that let him record the show directly onto his PC hard drive while he snoozed.

"The software, TimeTrax, also neatly arranged the individual songs from the concert, complete with artist name and song title information, into MP3 files.

"Then MacLean started selling the software, putting him in the thick of a potential legal battle pitting technically savvy fans against a company protecting its alliance–and licensing agreements–with the music industry."

Reuters. MP3 Tool Pulls Satellite Radio Into Piracy Fight. News.com. Aug. 27, 2004.

Update: Paul Festa. XM Radio Pulls PC Hardware Amid Piracy Concerns. News.com. Aug. 30, 2004. (XM Radio discontinues radio receiver that could be outfitted with TimeTrax, software that allows unit users to record songs onto their PC hard drive; unit is being sold on eBay.)

"After more than a decade of false starts and empty promises, publishers may finally be starting to understand what consumers want from electronic books.

"Although revenues remain tiny, industry surveys show encouraging signs of growth in e-book sales over the past year.

"Publishing executives and analysts say the industry is finally coming to grips with the most significant issues that have stalled e-book adoption to date."

David Becker. Have e-books Turned a Page?. News.com. Aug. 27, 2004.